Remembrance Day
by Puldoh
Summary: 5 year old Mikey goes to his father in search of answers of Remembrance Day, Poppies, War and soldiers. in honour of my little girl who asked me the same


They were watching TV when a commercial came up about the Remembrance Day Memorial. No one was really paying attention except Mikey. He watched as he saw people in suits march in uniform. And talk about a war where many soldeirs died. And that on November 11th, there would me a memorial for those who had died.

Mikey was confused. At 5, he was also curious. "Donnie, what's a war?" he asked curiously.

Don frowned, he had heard that term before, but couldn't remember what it meant. "I don't know Mikey, lemme get my book, kay?"

Mikey nodded and waited patiently. Don returned with a Dictionary in his hands. It was dirty and torn, but much loved since Donnie received it for Christmas last year. Don opened it up and went to the W's, looking for the definition.

"A war is armed fighting between groups: a period of hostile relations between countries, states, or factions that leads to fighting between armed forces, especially in land, air, or sea battles," he read slowly.

Mikey frowned, "What does all that mean? Why do they fight?"

Donnie shrugged., "I don't know, maybe you should ask Sensei. He knows more than me," he said with a small smile.

"So what's a soldier?" Mikey asked, leaning forward to look at the book Donnie was looking in.

"A soldier is someone who fights. He fights in wars to protect people from bad people," Donnie explained.

Mikey nodded, "'Kay, thanks Donnie," and Mikey bounded off the couch, ignoring Leo and Raph sudden fight over the remote. It had been Mikey's TV time, but he was too curious. _Why did they remember people they didn't know? Why was there a war? What was a soldier?_

"Master Splinter?" Mikey called out, knocking on the door to Splinters room.

"Yes my son, you may come in," Splinter said quietly.

"I just hadta ask a question." Mikey said as he sat down nearby. Splinter smiled and nodded his head.

"What's a war? And why do we gotta 'member soldiers? And why do they fights?" Mikey asked quickly.

Splinter frowned at the questions, and glanced at the calendar, seeing the date, and sighed. He probably saw something on the Television.

"A war is a large dispute. A fight between people or nations. Do you know what a Nation is?" Splinter asked as he tried to think of ways to teach his 5 year old son.

Mikey shook his head, "No, but Donnie has a big book with lotsa words innit, maybe he could tell you!"

Splinter smiled, "It is alright my son. I will explain. I have taught you about the world. There are many different countries. Many years ago, two countries started to fight. They were angry with each other."

Mikey piped up, "Why didn't their daddies send them to their room, like you send us to our room sensei? When we fight?"

Splinter smiled at the innocence of the questions, and said, "Well, these people who were fighting are grownups."

"But why were they fighting? Is it because they wanted something like me and Raphie get when we want the toys we like? Or when Raphie tries to steal my comics? Is that why?" Mikey asked.

Splinter didn't know how to explain things simply enough at first, and thinking quickly, he decided to teach his youngest. "Well, many people had gotten angry when this man named Franz Ferdinand was killed. Someone killed him on purpose because they were very angry."

"Isn't that wrong though sensei? To kill I mean? And being angry, don't you just get time outs to calm down?" Mikey asked confused.

Splinter shook his head, "No my son. Time outs was not used on adults. And yes, it was wrong to kill someone. But these people were angry. In 1914, Franz Ferdinand was murdered. These countries started to fight. It was between Serbia and Austria-Hungry at the time. These were the countries that were fighting."

"Wow, that's a long time ago," Mikey remarked.

Splinter nodded, "Yes it is. When they started to fight, many people banded together, forming an army of men. These armies of men would try to fight for their country, trying to protect it."

"They fought for a very long time, and many soldiers died. It was a very long time it lasted. Finally, the war was over in 1918. There was peace for awhile," Splinter explained. "But then another war started in 1939."

"Another? Why?" Mikey asked, eyes wide at the story Splinter was telling.

"Many of these people didn't like that they were not in power. They were very bad people who believed that the world they wanted, was best. So the fighting began again, and once more, many soldiers died as they fought."

"Did it ever end?" Mikey asked frightened, wondering if the humans were fighting above them.

"Yes it did my son. The First War ended in 1918. The Second War ended in 1945."

"But did they have to fight like that? Can't you just send the bad people away to jail? Why did the soldiers have to die? Were they all bad?" Mikey asked.

"No my son, these soldiers fought for what they believed in. They wanted to protect those who could be harmed by anyone, so they went out to fight," Splinter explained.

"But why did they havta protect people? Can't they protect themselves?" he asked, his blue eyes wide.

Splinter smiled, "Yes Michealngelo. They could protect themselves, but what about those who cannot. Like children, mothers, sisters, brothers? Everyone needs protection if they do not know how to fight back. That is why these people fought."

Mikey nodded, understanding, "Will there be another war?"

Splinter sighed, "There has not been one for many years and I pray that there will not be anymore. In our country, there is not a war. But we still learn how to defend our country."

"Are you a soldier? Cause you protect us!?" Mikey said excited.

Splinter shook his head, "I am not a soldier my son. I am a ninja and a father of 4 beautiful boys. I will always protect you, because that is my job as your father, and as a ninja."

Mikey beamed, and jumped into Splinter's lap, and smiled, "I think you're an awesome ninja and an awesome daddy."

Splinter cuddled with his youngest, his heart pounding a little at the innocence of his child. It was hard to judge if his son understood all about the war. About the soldiers.

"Father?" Mikey said quietly.

"Yes Michealngelo," Splinter replied.

"What's a poppy, and what's remembrance day?" Mikey asked.

"A poppy is type of flower that grows above ground. It is used as an Remembrance of the blood that has spilled on the ground when soldiers died. People use it to show their pride in the soldiers who fought, to remember them. Remembrance Day started on November 11, 1918. The Official End of the First War. On this day, every year, people gather together to give tribute to those who died. Who fought and were killed."

"Oh…" Mikey said, a small frown on his face, "but sensei. Me and Raphie and Leo and Donnie, we all fights a lot. Is that a war? I don't wanna havta fight them. Them is my brothers!"

Splinter smiled at that. It was so cute. "You four do fight a lot, but it mostly stems from disagreements my son." Seeing Michelangelo's confused face, he continued, "When you four fight, it is because one is doing something the other does not like. That is a disagreement. You are all brothers and family comes first to you all."

"Sensei," Mikey said, tiredly, "Will there always be wars?"

Splinter sighed sadly, silent for a moment. He wished he could tell his son that there would never be another war. But he could not. "No my son. It is a cycle that seems to come back. People will always fight. Always wish to be the one to take over. War may stop, but not until we stop and learn. If we all learn to get along, to let ourselves see past skin, race, religion and nation, then yes, that is when war will end. When we can learn to understand each other, and not want power."

Splinter picked up his son's sleeping body, smiling at the innocence in his face. That had been hard to explain. His son understood, but it was a hard subject.

Splinter tucked in Michelangelo, kissing his forehead and smiled. "A cycle can be broken….someday…"

* * *

_I had written this story in honour of my little girl. Today she learned all about Remembrance Day and what a poppy is for. She also learned about soldiers and fighting. _

_And after school, she had lots of questions. _

_All of these questions were hard to answer. How to simplify it enough so she could understand but not complicate it enough so she would be confused or scared. And for her to understand why. How do you explain to a 5 year old why Soldiers died and why do we got to remember them? _

_What Splinter answered above were basically my answers, from what I remembered from history. If its wrong, Please let me know, because I tried to double check but I could possibly be wrong. _

_I had to remember what I learned, and had to teach her. It was hard to figure out how to answer, "What is a war?" and "What is a soldier?" and "Why did they have to fight?"_

_Its so hard to explain to a little kid why things like this happened in our history, but I am glad she is learning. In the end, she realized why Remembrance Day was there, why they use a poppy and what a War was. I hope she never has to live through one. _

_I send out Cyber Poppies to all those who Remember Those who are gone. _


End file.
